Art Berke, a lifelong White Sox fan, has worked at the highest levels of the sports industry with Major League Baseball, ABC Television and Sports Illustrated. He grew up in Northwest Indiana, in the shadow of old Comiskey Park, and proudly proclaims 2005 as the best year of his life. Art offers his glass half-full opinions and observations as he lives and dies with the Sox.

Can the Sox Actually Win the Division? Let’s Get to .500 and Move On From There

I know the following to be true about the Pale Hose:

* Scotty Pods scored the winning run in yesterday’s 4-3 10-inning victory vs. the Angels on, of all things, a wild pitch. We’ll take it, but it was more good fortune than anything else.

* The usually reliable Matt Thornton gave up two runs in the eighth and Bobby Jenks the tying run in the ninth after John Danks pitched six scoreless innings.

* We had to rely on up and down Tony Pena to record the save with the tying run on third.

* Jermaine Dye continues his horrific second-half slump with his batting average down to .253.

* Alex Rios now has a mere five hits in his last 61 at bats.

* The Sox are still a game under .500 at 71-72.

All that said, I’m still feeling a bit of a positive vibe today after the Tigers lost their fifth in a row to allow the Sox to creep within five games of the lead and pull a half-game ahead of the Twins, who lost as well. Remember, we have six left with Detroit.

Is it realistic to think we can actually win the AL Central with all we’ve been through? Well, if it’s going to happen, Pods (who hit an inside-the-parker yesterday), Beckham (who knocked out three hits), the pesky Getz, AJ and, of course. the starting pitching will have to continue to be front and center. Furthermore, the bullpen and the likes of Dye, Rios and Quentin have to snap out of it.

Is it possible? First things first. Let’s win today, take the series from the Angels, get to .500 and then focus on the Mariners.

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